You Make Me Feel Something Like Summertime
by Morning Glory
Summary: AU. Puck/Rachel. Rachel spends the summer on her Aunt's ranch in Shelbyville, Tennessee. They say every girl needs a summer to fall in love and this just might be the summer for Rachel.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi y'all! So I'm new here and this is my first go at a multi-chapter fic. It will probably be around 10 chapters. It's outlined, but I'm not completely sure on an ending yet. But I hope you like it!

Also, the title is from the song "Summertime" by Mae

P.S. Reviews are cute :)

* * *

Rachel Berry grew up in the hustle and bustle of New York City. She's rich but she's never acted like most of the spoiled trust fund kids on the Upper East Side. It's because both her Dads worked hard for their money and neither came from money. They always instilled in her that you can't just expect things to happen to you, you have to make them happen for yourself. She was still enriched with the lavish lifestyle of New York's elite but she was always sure to say her pleases and thank yous (and mean them).

Rachel always worked hard and thrived off the thrill of succeeding. She graduated on the top of her class and will be attending Juilliard in the fall. She has been working all her young adult life for this and has never taken a break like most of her peers. After a lot of consideration and talking with her Dads, they decide it would be best that she take the summer off and actually take time to do nothing.

Rachel just needs to get out of the city. She knows if she stays in New York for the summer it would be anything but calm and stress-free. Even if she's not taking a dance class or attending an acting workshop, there's always a party or a brunch to attend or plan. If she's going to be doing nothing, she wants just that.

So Rachel ends up packed and heading to Shelbyville, Tennessee for the summer. Her Aunt Sarah has been begging her since forever to come spend a summer with her on her horse ranch there so she is going to take her up on that. She's been there a couple times for short visits with her fathers and it's beautiful and she's always loved how relaxed she can be there.

On the flight she thinks of the last conversation she had with her best friend Kurt Hummel the night before. Kurt is the typical New York Gay Best Friend. She knows it's cliche, and most things in her life seem to be, but he's her best friend beyond just shopping and mani/pedis.

"I can't believe you're leaving me for the whole summer", Kurt sighs dramatically as he lays on Rachel's bed while she floats around her room packing.

"You'll survive. I'm not your only friend, just your best" Rachel responds messing up his hair.

He smacks her hand away and smooths down his hair, "Well you have to do one thing for me while you're there."

"And what's that?" Rachel asks with intrigue.

"You know, save a horse. And ride a cowboy."

Rachel laughs and says, "You're so bad." as Kurt smiles and raises his eyebrows at her.

But then she lays on the bed next to him and says, "But I'm sure that the boys there are a lot less high maintenance then the ones here. It would meet nice to meet a boy who doesn't spend sixty dollars on his shampoo."

Kurt laughs and tells her (orders her), "Just have a summer fling with a southern gentleman."

"Maybe" Rachel says, but with the smile she shares with Kurt, they both know it's definitely now on her summer agenda.

* * *

When Rachel gets to the baggage claim she hears someone yell her name and when she turns around, her Aunt Sarah is running towards her and wraps her in a hug. Rachel laughs and hugs her back just as tight.

"Oh Rachel, I can't believe you're here! This is so exciting!"

"I'm glad I'm here too, I'm looking forward to this lazy summer in the south."

"Good! Be as lazy as you want, I'm just so happy you're here" Aunt Sarah says as she hugs Rachel again.

The drive to Shelbyville from Nashville is a little over an hour. She talks with her Aunt about the last year at school and her plans for college in the fall. She asks her Aunt how the ranch is and how Joe is. (Joe is Aunt Sarah's boyfriend, they've been together as long as Rachel can remember, they aren't married but it seems to work for them.)

They arrive and Rachel forgot just how beautiful it was here, it's completely breathtaking. The house sits on like a gazillion acres of land. The air is even different, calmer. The house isn't huge, but it's got character. It's an old house from the late 1800s and has this gorgeous wrap around porch she thinks is the perfect place to lounge with a good book and a glass of iced tea.

She's staying in the guest room on the first floor right next to the kitchen. The room is smaller than her's at home, but it has a bay window that overlooks the property. She opens the windows taking a deep breath of the fresh summer air, and starts unpacking her things.

When she's done she goes into the kitchen and tells her Aunt Sarah she's going to go walk around. She goes straight to the barn housing the horses. This was always her favorite part of visiting, though it will take her a couple days to get used to the smell.

When she enters the barn she sees Joe standing there next to the most gorgeous guy she's ever seen in her life. He has tanned skin that's glistening from what she's guessing is a long day of hard labor. He looks at her and she sees he has piercing green eyes in contrast to his dark hair and a smile that she knows probably gets him whatever he wants.

Joe notices her then and runs over hugging her and swinging her around, "It's great to have you here, kid."

"I'm glad to be here. I'm sure Aunt Sarah had a heart attack when I told her I was actually coming"

"You don't even know the half if it" he says with a laugh and twirls her around, "Look at you, all grown up now, I bet you're beating all those city boys away with a stick."

Rachel can feel her face get red and says, "Stop."

The boy laughs along with Joe and when she looks he's walking over to them.

Joe says, "Excuse my manners, this is Puck, he works here with me during the week and this is Rachel, Sarah's niece."

Puck wipes his hand on his pant leg and reaches out and Rachel takes it, "Nice to meet you Rachel".

"You too" she says with a smile.

"Okay we have to get back to work, but you know where the brushes are if you wanna spend some time with the girls" Joe says giving her a pat on the head.

Rachel says, "Okay" excitingly and runs over to where they keep the brushes.

She loves brushing the horses and spending time with them. There's something really great about it when you can be around these animals and they're so calm. She knows it's because they trust you and that really is a great feeling.

Rachel spends the next hour or so brushing and talking to the horses. She's in the middle of asking Star (her favorite horse, and the one that Aunt Sarah and Joe let her name when she was 12) if she was enjoying her summer so far and it seems the weather has been perfect.

"You know they're horses and they can't answer you right?"

Rachel lets out a scream and turns to see Puck standing leaning over the gate to the stall. "I know that, but that doesn't mean you can't talk to them."

Puck laughs and then says, "So Joe said you're from New York City?"

Rachel nods, "All my life"

"What's it like?" Rachel looks at him and sees that he may look very much like a man, but she can tell from excitement she sees in his eyes and hears in his voice, that he's still, mostly, a boy.

"It's wonderful. There's so much there and so much to do. I have lived there my whole life and I still can find new things to enjoy. Have you ever been there?"

Puck shakes his head, "No, but I always wanted to. I've been to Nashville some though, but I don't think it's the same."

Rachel laughs and says, "Probably not. You should go though, I highly recommend it."

"Maybe, one day." he says shrugging his shoulders.

Rachel smiles and thinks she found the perfect southern gentleman for this summer fling Kurt suggested.

They talk a little longer before he has to leave. She learns he graduated the year before and took classes at the local community college. He doesn't know what he wants to do yet but he likes it. She tells him that she's going to Juilliard and she's going to be starring on Broadway in 5 years. He grins when he tells her she seems pretty sure about that. She says if you can't be sure about your dreams, then they can't come true.

Before he leaves he says it was nice meeting her and will be seeing her around. She decides she is sure that this summer is going to be great. She also decides she's sure he's going to be why.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who favored/reviewed/alerted this story! I am really grateful for all your enthusiasm and kind words :) But I do have a question since I'm new here, does anyone know how the how BetaReader thing works or gets set up? I would be really interested in getting another set of eyes as I go along!

Well I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Happy Reading!

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Rachel lies in bed at night, unable to get to sleep. You'd think it'd be easy, with the lack of lights and constant noise of the city, but that's the exact reason she can't sleep. It's weird to think that silence can be louder than anything.

But she just lies there thinking about Puck. She thinks about his eyes and how green they are. She also thinks that green eyes are totally underrated. Then there's his arms, muscular and toned, but not bulging out so much that he has the same stance as a gorilla. Those arms would feel very nice wrapped around her, she's sure. She thinks of his smile next, which almost feels like it's a secret just between the two of them. And then there's his slow, deep voice that's laced with a country twang that makes her sigh.

She finally falls into a peaceful sleep with thoughts of Puck and all his attributes. And she may dream of him throughout the night and all the things he could do to her.

The next morning she's drinking coffee on the porch when she sees him arrive in his pick up truck. He hops out and before running out to Joe, he waves to her and she waves back. Rachel waits until he leaves to giggle to herself. She doesn't think she's had a crush like this since she was fifteen. It's kind of fun though and no one can fault her for having a crush on Puck.

Rachel watches him the next couple of days and she learns his daily routine. He's there at eight in the morning, has lunch around noon, and leaves by five or six. She's talked to him some but it seems like its been a hard couple of days for him and Joe from what she can see. It's probably hard to work those long days in this summer heat. But she gets a wave and smile in the mornings, light conversations as he stuffs his face at lunch, and they usually talk about something useless or silly for a couple minutes before he leaves.

It's the fourth day and Rachel is hanging out with the horses when he comes in. She sees that it's only just past three and he looks like he's getting ready to leave.

"Hey" She calls out to him.

He smiles and walks over, "Hey"

"You done early today?"

"Yea thank God, I felt like I was gonna die, it's so hot today." Puck says as he wipes some sweat off of his forehead.

Rachel looks at him and thinks he's so hot everyday.

"Well what are you going to do with your day now?"

"Dunno" he shrugs.

"Well, I remember from when I was younger, there's a creek here and I'm not sure if I remember exactly where it is-"

"I know where it is." Puck interrupts.

Rachel smiles and says, "Good. Well as I was saying, I was thinking about going since it is so hot out today. If you're not doing anything, you could to join me if you like. I mean, you don't have to but if you're not doing anything-"

Puck laughs and says, "Yea, let's go."

After Rachel stops in the house to change into her bathing suit, she follows Puck to the creek. She more nervous about trying to keep her cool rather than being around Puck in her bikini. After years of dancing and a rigorous exercise schedule, Rachel knows she has a good body. She can admit that because she works hard to keep it that way.

He's in the water as soon as they get there and she can see him looking out of the corner of her eye as she takes her clothes off. She smiles to herself and runs into the water, diving in. As soon as she's in the water she feels relief from the hot summer day. When she comes back up from underwater she sees him swimming over to her.

"This was a good idea" he says with a sigh.

Rachel pushes her hair out of her face and says, "I'm full of good ideas."

Puck lets out a laugh, "Oh really?"

"Yes. Why are you laughing?" Rachel asks and she's sure if she wasn't treading water, she'd have her arms across her chest waiting for his answer.

Puck shakes his head and says, "You're just, I don't know I've never met anyone like you before."

Rachel doesn't know what to make of that. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No."

Rachel looks at him trying to figure out what he means, but he's smiling at her so she can't help but smile back.

* * *

The next day she goes into town with a huge smile on her face. She hasn't stopped thinking about Puck since, well, since she met him really, but more specifically now about their afternoon at the creek.

Nothing crazy happened. He never tried to kiss her and never said anything inappropriate. Rachel's not used to boys being such gentleman. If she was there with any of the boys back home they wouldn't have just tried something, but would have just expected it. Part of her likes that things seem to be going rather slowly, but the other part just wants him to be anything but a gentleman.

They ended up sitting on the grass next to each other just talking. She learned his real name when he tells her some crazy story imitating his mother yelling, "Noah Samuel Puckerman, I brought you into this world, I can very well take you out of it!"

Rachel laughs and asks, "So you're name is Noah?"

"You caught that?" he says with a laugh in his voice.

"Yea and I like it better. Can I call you Noah?"

Puck raises his eyebrows as he looks at her, "Does it matter if I say no?"

Rachel thinks about it for a second and says, "Nope."

Puck rolls his eyes and says, "Whatever, just don't call me late to dinner."

Rachel laughs so hard she can hardly breath and tells him that was the corniest thing she's ever heard and he just shrugs and says, "You like it."

Rachel laughs thinking about it now as she's walking down the street. She thinks this is the cutest town in the world and so much different than where she's from. Everyone takes their time and is in no rush to get anywhere. The strangers you pass always offer a smile, nod, and some times even a hello. That doesn't even happen in New York with people you know.

She sees Puck coming out of a store a couple shops down and her smile grows. However, it quickly disappears when she sees the prettiest girl she's ever seen walk out behind him and take his hand. She's tall and blond, but not in the fake bimbo kind of way. She has almost no makeup on but still looks like she could be on a cover of a magazine. Maybe their just friends. Friends can hold hands, right? But then she sees him turn his head and kiss her right on the lips and her stomach drops.

Before she can escape, Puck sees her and calls out her name. Good thing she has years of acting experience because all she wants to do is leave to sulk in her own self pity - but she pastes on a mega watt smile and heads over to him.

"Hey Rachel, this is my girlfriend, Quinn" he says with a smile.

Rachel takes the hand Quinn offers and says, "Nice to meet you."

Quinn is smiling and is practically bouncing when she says, "Oh you too! Puck was actually just telling me about you. It must be so great living in New York City. Gosh, I can't even begin to image. You'll have to tell me about it sometime!"

"That sounds great" (That does not sound great.) Rachel says with her most convincing fake smile, "But I gotta run, I'm picking something up for my Aunt Sarah, but I'm sure I'll see you around!"

Quinn gives her smile that is truly genuine and tells her, "It was really great meeting you!"

Rachel wants to vomit. "You too."

Puck says he'll see her Monday and she sees them walk away. Puck put his arm around Quinn's waist and can hear him call her 'baby' and Quinn giggle. Rachel really just feels like sinking into a hole and never coming back out. She just walks home and gets in her bed and rethinks everything and how stupid she is for misreading all of Puck's actions.

She realizes that none of their interactions were really anything more than friendly but she was blinded by her crush and read way too much into them. They also didn't know each that long or that well. But there was just something, like an instant connection that she felt with him.

She tells herself that she just needs to get over it. She still has the whole summer and plenty of time to find someone else to have this summer fling with. She also thinks it wouldn't be bad having him as a friend, even if she can get a smile on her face from just thinking about him.

* * *

Rachel sees him again on Monday and as much as she's trying to get over her crush it's hard when he looks the way he does. He comes into the barn as a complete walking cliche. He's wearing pair up muddy boots and a Stetson is perched on top of his head.

So, don't blame her when she's a little on edge. She already decided that she's not going to try to seduce him like Kurt suggested, she's just not that kind of girl. She would hate if someone did that to her, so why would she do that do someone else? Especially to someone who seemed so nice and unsuspecting. Rachel doesn't know Quinn, but she can tell she's not like the girls in New York who can sometimes seem completely soulless. She just has to be able to look at him, try to keep her cool, and not read into every smile and laugh he throws her way.

"Sorry about Quinn the other day, she can get a bit overexcited sometimes." Puck says as he swaggers on over her way.

"It's okay. She's seems really nice" Rachel says, hardly looking him in the eyes.

"She is." Puck says with a proud smile on his face that makes Rachel's stomach turn.

"How long have you've been together."

"Three years."

She sends him a small smile and nods.

"You okay? You seem weird."

"I seem weird?" Rachel doesn't mean to sound so defensive, but being called weird isn't something you hope for.

Puck looks like he feels bad and says, "No not weird like that - Just, like you're usually talking a mile a minute and right now you're, you know, not."

He puts his hand on her shoulder, shakes it, and tells her, "Cheer up, Broadway."

Her heart skips a beat, finding this nickname he just came up very endearing. It's probably because of his accent because Rachel hates nicknames. She also can't have his hands on her for one more second or she thinks she might melt right there in front of him. So she just pushes his hand off, fakes a look of disgust, and says, "Noah, you're hands are filthy."

He just laughs and says sorry. But she can see mischief in his eyes when he pulls out the water bottle in his back pocket and starts taking off the cap. Before Rachel can realize what he's doing, he splashes it all over her.

Rachel screams and Puck starts laughing harder than she's ever seen him laugh. She gives him a look that, if it could, it would kill. He turns and runs and Rachel runs right after him throwing hay (it's the only thing she could throw) and he throws it back.

They both stop after a few minutes, out of breath and laughing. Puck puts both his hands up in a truce. Rachel laughs and brushes the hay that sticking to her off. Puck brings his hand to her forehead and brushes off a stray piece that was left there. She feels a jolt in her stomach the second his hand touches her skin. She looks at him and says, "Thanks."

He just nods and gives her this look that she's not sure how to read, but it makes her stomach twist and she thinks for a second her knees might give out on her. But he just takes a deep breath and says he's gotta go and he'll see her tomorrow.

Rachel huffs after he leaves and thinks this might be the most frustrating situation she could have on her careless, stress-free, lazy summer in the south. She sure find a cowboy, but this perfect cowboy had a perfect girlfriend. She has to stop reading into something that's not there and that's not going to happen. And what just happened was nothing. She should not read into that at all. Right? Right.

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Reviews = :D


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I know I got the first two chapters out one after the other but I had a couple long days at work at this weekend I was a little sick, so it took a little longer. **

**I hope everyone is enjoying the story and I'm excited to get the next couple chapters done and ready to post :)**

**Enjoy!**

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Rachel feels like she's gotten to know Puck pretty well over the last couple weeks. It's never been this easy for her to talk to a boy before. They can talk about the silliest things but there has been moments when he's told her something she can tell he doesn't talk about much. He talks a little about his father and how he left when he was young, but Rachel doesn't try to pry much out of him because she can tell just telling her that is hard for him.

Rachel even gets to know Quinn better. Quinn calls her and tells her they should get lunch because she needs to know everything about Rachel and her life in New York City. She learns that Quinn wants to get out of Shelbyville more than anything. She's majoring in Political Science and wants to transfer to a school in a city in the North East somewhere. Rachel knows that life would be so much easier if Quinn was just a complete bitch, but she's not and she actually really likes her. This fact makes her feel even worse about all the daydreaming Rachel does about her boyfriend.

Rachel and Puck are talking at the end of the day on the porch. He's lounging on one of the chairs when he looks at her and says, "So Broadway, when am I going to hear you sing?"

She looks over at him, a bit surprised, "You want me to sing?"

Puck shrugs, "If you want to."

"I always want to," Rachel says automatically.

Puck laughs and looks at Rachel, waiting as she still sits there, "So ..."

"So?"

"Sing"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Okay" Rachel says nervously as she gets up and stands in front of him. She hates that he is making her nervous. She is never nervous about singing. Ever. She thinks for a minute deciding on the perfect song and sees Puck sitting there, waiting with a smile on his face.

Rachel decides to sing a song by Carrie Underwood that's all over the radio down here, so Puck will actually know what she's singing and because it can show off her singing ability. Rachel starts to sing, but keeps her eyes close. Usually it's very important to her to have eye contract with her audience when giving a performance, but she just can't look at Puck right now.

Rachel feels like she hasn't sung like this is forever and it feels really good. She opens her eyes as she sings her last note and once she's done, looks at Puck. He went from relaxed and lounging on the chair to sitting straight up and just staring at Rachel. She plays with the bottom of her dress and asks, "So?"

Puck just shakes his head, lets out a laugh, and says, "I think you have the best voice I've ever heard."

Rachel has always enjoyed compliments, but she's never been modest about her talents. But as she stands in front of Puck and he tells her that, she can't help but blush and say, "Really?"

He smiles at her, nodding, "You're like, amazing."

Rachel smiles back and feels her heart race speed up, "Thank you."

* * *

A week later Rachel sneaks up on Puck working with ear buds in his ears and singing along to some classic rock song she vaguely knows. She is pleasantly surprised when she hears his singing voice. It's definitely not a trained voice like hers, but it's got a raspy and deep tone that works well with the rock music he's singing along to. He's also in tune and on pitch which she knows means he knows something about music.

She just stands there watching him and laughing when turns around, eyes closed, singing and playing air guitar. He opens his eyes in the middle of it and sees Rachel standing there giggling. Instead of getting embarrassed he just finishes the last couple lines of the song, smiling at her and bows.

When he takes his ear buds out Rachel asks, "Why didn't you tell me you could sing?"

"I was just singing along to some song, it's no big deal" Puck says when he shrugs his shoulders.

"Well I think you have a lovely voice, Noah."

"Lovely?" Puck says making a disgruntled face.

Rachel doesn't know why he sounds so negative and she says, "Yes."

"C'mon, Rach, lovely isn't very manly."

Rachel giggles as Puck scoffs, "I'm just trying to tell you that I think you are very talented."

Puck shakes his head and looks down.

"Sing more."

"What? No."

"Please?" Rachel says as she give him her best pout and wide eyed look.

Puck grunts and says, "Another time."

Rachel lets out a squeal and a huge smile forms on her face, "You promise?"

"Yea, whatever."

"I'll hold you to that."

"God, are you always this pushy?"

"Yes." Rachel says laughing. Puck just smiles at her and gets back to work.

* * *

Friday night comes and Rachel is on the phone with Kurt discussing her plans for the night.

"So, you're going to a party with you're Cowboy Cutie and his Miss Susie Q?"

"Yes and stop calling them that." Rachel says as she balances her phone on her shoulder as she holds up different shirts up to her in the mirror.

"I can call them whatever I want to sweetheart, I'm the cynical best friend, it's in my nature."

Rachel laughs and says, "Fine, but I'm still not going to try and scheme and sabotage their relationship. I just can't. And I'd rather spend my summer making friends, not enemies."

"Even if you want to rip the clothes off of your so-called friend?"

Rachel responds with a huff, "I'll get over it." and then pauses as she lays out on her bed, "I think."

"They say the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else."

Rachel scrunches up her nose, "You know I hate that saying."

"Yea, but it's true."

Rachel just grunts and Kurt knows she knows he's right.

"Just find some other cowboy tonight, I'm sure there will be plenty to choose from. You just have to look past the red cups and stale beer, and your prince charming will be waiting."

Rachel laughs and tells him she will try and they continue to talk until she's ready to leave.

* * *

The party isn't anything like she's used to back home. One, no one is wearing anything by a designer. Two, they're in the middle of a field. Seriously, she's standing in the middle of a field, light illuminating from a bon fire, and the only choice of drink is from the keg. She smiles because as much as her life seems to be a complete cliche, this party is completely cliche as well.

Rachel is hanging out with Quinn and Puck because they're the only people she knows here. But Puck wonders off to some of his other friends and Quinn makes it her personal duty to introduce Rachel to every person there. She thinks it's says something about Quinn's character that she's not the type of girl that has to constantly hang onto her boyfriend at all times. She's seen too many girls define themselves by whoever they were with. Where she's from it has a lot to do with status and needing to be better than everyone else. But she is learning that Quinn is a lot different than she imagined her to be.

Rachel also has to admit that there are a lot of cute boys in middle of this field to chose from. There must be something in the water here, because boys definitely do not look like this everywhere.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet!" Quinn says, grabbing her hand.

Rachel laughs, "You've said that about every person here."

"Well I mean it more this time."

Quinn drags her over to where Puck is talking to another boy. The first thing she notices is how tall he is. Next she sees the goofy smile on his face and that he has boyish good looks. Her breath doesn't get caught in her throat like when she looks at Puck, but he still is very cute.

"Finn Hudson!" Quinn says as we get to them.

"Hey Quinn!" Finn says as he turns and hugs her. When he pulls away from Quinn, Rachel sees him smirking at her as he says, "Who's your friend?"

He looks her up and down and Rachel blushes, "Hi, I'm Rachel."

"Well Rachel, it's very nice to meet you. It seems my cup is empty," then looks over into hers, "and yours looks like it's running low. Would you like to join me in a trip to refill?"

She looks over to Quinn who is smiling, nods, and pushes her towards Finn. Rachel laughs and says, "Sure", and follows Finn.

Rachel spends the rest of the night with Finn. She finds out that he's a bit ditzy and clumsy but she's finding it completely charming. He grew up in Shelbyville and can't see himself living anywhere else. He thinks it's cool that she's from New York City, but doesn't go crazy over it which is refreshing.

They have been flirting all night and she's a little drunk off of this cheap beer so she doesn't push him away when he leans in and kisses her. He's not the best kisser in the world, but he's pretty enthusastic. She's not getting any butterflies or flutters in her heart. It strange how she can feel that just looking at Puck or hearing his voice, but she's trying not to think about that right at this moment.

They pull apart a couple minutes later and he is smiling down at her. She smiles back because he is just really cute. He trails his lips down her neck and before Rachel closes her eyes, she sees Puck looking at her. Their eyes meet for a split second before he turns and walks away. Rachel doesn't get much time to think about it because Finn's lips find hers again.

* * *

When Monday morning comes around, Rachel is in her usual spot on the porch waiting for Puck to arrive. She waves to him, he waves back, but he doesn't have a smile on his face like every other morning. Maybe he's just having a bad morning.

Then lunch comes and when Joe comes into the kitchen, Puck is not following behind him. Rachel waits a couple minutes before going outside where she spots Puck sitting in the bed of his truck eating his lunch by himself.

Rachel is confused because he always eats inside with Joe. She goes over and hops up into the bed of the truck next to him, "Hey."

He doesn't look at her when he grunts back a hello.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he says still not looking at her.

Rachel has no idea what's wrong with him. "Well you don't seem fine."

"Well I am" Puck replies shortly.

"I don't believe you."

Puck just shrugs his shoulders. After a moment he asks, "You have fun with Finn?"

It takes a second for Rachel connect the way he's acting and the way he asked her if she had fun with Finn.

"Wait, are you mad at me because of Finn?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

Puck sighs and says, "I don't know - I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you."

Rachel looks at him waiting for a better explanation.

"Listen, I've been friends with Finn my entire life and he's my boy and all, but I know him. And I know that when it comes to girls, he doesn't always have the, uh, most honorable intentions."

Rachel hold her breath and tells herself not to read into this like she wants to. She just waits a moment before saying, "Noah, I'm not a little girl, I can take care of myself. I'm not expecting anything either, I'm just trying to have some fun."

Puck nods and Rachel bumps her shoulder with his and says "Cheer up, Cowboy."

He rolls his eyes at her but lets out a laugh which makes Rachel smile.

He looks at her after a moment and says, seriously, "Just be careful, okay?"

Rachel just nods. She hates this feeling she gets when he looks at her while he says it. He obviously cares about her in some way if he's worried about her and it just makes her care about him even more. And she's starting to really care about him in a way she's never felt with anyone before.

They spend the rest of his lunch talking, even though Puck still seems a little off. But by the end of the day, Puck is acting like his normal self and like nothing ever happened. Rachel thinks whoever says that girls are more confusing than boys are completely mistaken.

* * *

**Next:** A double date and Rachel learns that Puck and Quinn's relationship isn't as perfect as it seems.

Comments/suggestions are appreciated. Review, if you please :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I want to thank everyone again for reading, reviewing, and following this story! I know you all want some Puckleberry action, but there needs to be a procession, right? Well, I think so! Well I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Happy Reading :)**

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Rachel has been spending some time with Finn and has learned that Puck may have been a little harsh on his worries about Finn's intentions. He's not any worse than any other guy his age (he's definitely not worse than most guys she knows, by far.) They've only been hanging out for about 2 weeks and he hasn't really tried anything, but Rachel knows if she let it go there, he'd be all for it. But right now she's just enjoying his company and the distraction. He's really funny too and half the time she spends with him, she's laughing. (Most times Finn has no idea why she's laughing, but he doesn't seem to care.)

It's the morning and Rachel is curled up on her favorite chair on the porch with a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She just loves how quiet and peaceful it is right now. There is still the fresh dewy smell of morning and the summer heat hasn't quite kicked in, but the sun is shining brightly. She hears the screen door open and close and feels the weight shift next to her. She looks over and sees her Aunt Sarah sitting there with her own cup of coffee.

Right after Aunt Sarah sits down, Puck pulls up in his truck. He jumps out and sends Rachel a smile and a wave and offers one to Sarah as well. Rachel keeps the smile on her face as she takes a sip of coffee and watches Puck make his way out to Joe.

"What's going on there?" Sarah asks with a hint of excitement in her voice. (Rachel knows that Aunt Sarah loves to talk boys with her, she always has.)

"What are you talking about?" Rachel responds, finding the inside of her mug much more interesting than whatever way her aunt is looking at her.

"Oh, just that smile that's plastered on your face and the one that's plastered on his."

It's weird that she can feel her aunt smirking at her even though she's not looking at her. Rachel has been pretty good lately with not reading into the little things with Puck, but she already knows that this conversation is only going to make her take a step backwards in her fight to get Puck out of her brain plans.

"It's nothing, we're friends, that's all."

Sarah smiles knowingly, "It doesn't look like nothing."

Rachel huffs and turns to look at her aunt, "Well it is. He has a girlfriend and they are perfectly perfect together."

"Things aren't always as they seem."

Rachel rolls her eyes and says, "Well that's not a completely cliche statement."

"I'm just saying, the way he was looking at you? That didn't look like nothing to me." Sarah says then takes a sip of her coffee.

They sit there quietly while Rachel thinks about everything she just said. Part of her wants to just brush it off so she doesn't get swept up in it. But there's another part that thinks that maybe Aunt Sarah is seeing something she isn't and she can't be at fault for thinking it over.

* * *

Quinn and Rachel have lunch one afternoon because as weird as it is, Quinn is quickly becoming a friend to Rachel. It's completely screwed up and she feels like the universe is playing a huge joke on her, but she just has to deal with it. But anyway, Quinn makes Rachel tell her everything about the couple of dates she had with Finn. And even though she's not crazy about Finn, she likes him, and it's always fun talking about boys.

Rachel notices after a lull in their conversation that it looks like Quinn is worried about something, "Quinn, are you okay?"

"Yea, everything's fine." Rachel can tell that means that everything is not fine.

"You sure?"

Quinn sighs and after a moment says, "It's about Puck."

Rachel isn't sure she actually wants to hear about this. She also is nervous that Quinn has caught on to her not so platonic feelings for Puck and is just going to call her out on it in a public place to humiliate her.

"Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened per say. I just, I don't know, things have just felt a little off lately."

"Off?"

"We have just been together so long you know?"

Rachel nods her head. (She doesn't really know. The longest relationship she's been in was for 5 months and she didn't even really like him that much.)

"Everyone just expects us to get married, have kids, and stay in Shelbyville forever. What if we're still together just because it's what's expected and we're just comfortable? I feel so awful thinking these things because I do love Puck, I do. It's just kind of a lot thinking about forever when you're just barely 19."

Rachel listens to Quinn and tells her, "Listen, you can't help how you feel. Emotion is one of those things in life that's pretty much uncontrollable, so don't feel awful about something that's completely reasonable."

Quinn takes a breath and Rachel thinks it literally looks like there were weights on her shoulders and they were lifted off.

Quinn smiles at Rachel when she says, "Thanks. Honestly I feel better just talking about it with someone, it's hard to discuss things like with people we've both known our whole lives. I know we haven't known each other that long, but you're a really good friend, Rachel."

Rachel just smiles at Quinn and can't help but think back to what Aunt Sarah said to her about things not being as they seem. She also doesn't feel like a good friend when she can't help but think about what this could mean for her chances with Puck.

* * *

Somehow Rachel, Finn, Puck, and Quinn wind up on a double date on a Friday night. They are sitting at the local diner in a booth and it's so much more awkward than she thought it would be. Well she's not sure if it's awkward for everyone or just her. It's probably just her.

But Finn is to her left, Puck is right across from her and Quinn is next to him. She is mostly just nodding a long because she has to deal with the war that's going on in her heart and mind. Finn puts his arm around her while they're eating and she tries hard not to wish it was Puck's arm instead. It's just an awful thing for her to think when Quinn is sitting right there and she hates it.

It gets less awkward once they leave the diner and continue the night with a round of mini golf. It's a lot easier to just have fun and let loose when there's a game involved. Rachel is a very competitive person and she is using this game as a distraction and is fully focused on winning. She thinks Finn, Puck, and Quinn are a little surprised at how well she's doing and how competitive she really is.

Naturally, Rachel wins and it's not even because the boys let her. She can tell because they both look thoroughly confused. She feels a little bad, but not bad enough to not rub it in their faces. Even though Quinn came in last, she's taunting the boys right along with her.

Finn drops Rachel off at the end of the night and kisses her in his car. He tells that he's never dated anyone like her before. She asks what she's like and he tells her she's beautiful, funny, smart, and really cool. When he kisses her again, it's the first time she doesn't wish it was someone else kissing her instead.

* * *

It's a beautiful day, so Puck and Rachel eat lunch outside on the porch while Joe and Sarah are inside. She can tell he's thinking about something he wants to talk about, but even in the short time she's known him, she knows he takes his time to let it out. So, she just sits silently next to him, waiting for him to finally get it all out.

Finally she hears him take a deep a breath and he asks, "Has, um - Has Quinn said anything to you at all. About me?"

Rachel knows girl code and she is not going to break it. She knows that when Quinn talked to her about Puck, that it was to stay between them. She can't repeat or allude to anything Quinn told her. But she also can't lie to Puck, he is above all else, her friend. She can't straight out lie when he is asking her such a direct question. So she takes a moment to form her thoughts and figure out a way to talk to him without lying and without saying anything at the same time. Rachel wonders if everyone thinks this much about everything or if it's just her (it's probably just her).

"Why would you say that?" Rachel asks him.

Puck shrugs, "She's just acting weird."

"Weird?"

"I don't know, it just seems like she's pulling away from me. I don't know why, I don't know if I did anything. And what does it mean that I don't even know if I did anything?" Puck says, completely frustrated.

Rachel really doesn't know what to say. She could really use this to her advantage and a part of her is considering it. But a bigger, and better part of her pushes that thought away. She just shakes her head and tells him, "I think the only person who can answer these questions for you is Quinn."

Puck nods in response, "Yea, you're probably right."

Rachel, in an effort to lighten the mood, just says, "I'm always right."

That results in Puck letting out a small laugh and offering her a smile. She smiles back and they continue to eat their lunch.

Later that night, Rachel is lying in bed thinking about what might happen between Puck and Quinn. There is literally a million thoughts and feelings going through her and they are all conflicting with each other.

There's her completely overwhelming, something that she has for Puck. It started off with just an attraction but it has completely changed into so much more. She not only looks forward to seeing him because he is certainly the best looking guy she has ever seen in real live, but she looks forward to just spending time with him. She finds she gets the same enjoyment from looking at him work with his shirt off as when he tells her those corny jokes he thinks are so much funnier than they are.

But then there's Quinn. She really is becoming her friend and it really sucks that this is all so complicated. The easiest thing for Rachel to do is just suck it up and the only one that will get hurt is herself. And that's what she's been doing. But after the conversations she's had with Aunt Sarah, Quinn, and Puck it isn't as simple as that anymore.

If Quinn and Puck break up, it wouldn't be because she is scheming and plotting against them. No, it would because of things having nothing to do with her. So is it bad if she hopes that they break up? See, complicated, conflicting thoughts and feelings.

And then she thinks about Finn and she feels bad because he didn't pop into her head until right then. She thinks about how she doesn't even think about him much when she's not with him. She just hopes he doesn't feel anything more for her than she feels for him. That would add a whole other level to her problems.

But whatever happens, happens right? Half the summer has already passed and these unrequited feelings haven't killed her yet, so if she has to go the rest of the summer this way, Rachel will deal. Still, in the silence of her room and of the night, she hopes that there might be a way for her feelings to get very much requited.

When she sees Puck the next day, she's not exactly sure what she's expecting to happen, but she needs to know if anything happened between him and Quinn. She just needs to know how she needs to proceed with her own feelings. They finally have a chance to talk and she doesn't even have to ask before Puck tells her he talked to Quinn the night before.

"And?"

"It wasn't anything I did, so that was good."

"Well, yes that's good." Rachel says but she just wants to yell at him to just tell her everything right now.

"She just told me that she was scared we were only together because we were just used to it and because everyone expected us to."

Rachel nods her head like she is hearing this for the first time.

"But we both wouldn't care so much if we didn't want to be together, right?"

Rachel heart feels like it dropped to her stomach. She's forgetting to breath in the moment and just realized how much she was holding out for the hope that they would just break up. She just feels a bit stupid, "Yea, right. I'm glad you guys are working it out."

"Yea." Puck says, almost as if he's not so sure. He looks to Rachel, "Thanks though, for listening or whatever."

Rachel plasters on her fake smile and says, "No problem. That's what friends are for."

She told herself not to get her hopes up about any of this. But she knows she did and she can't help that when she is falling asleep that night, she cries for the first time over Noah Puckerman.

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**Next:** Puck showing some jealousy when it comes to Rachel.

Reviews are good for the soul, like soup!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for all the love! I'm really glad everyone's enjoying this story as much as I enjoy telling it! I've been trying to respond to everyone's reviews, and if I haven't yet I will and for those who I can't respond to personally thank you! **

**I had one review wondering about the pairing because Rachel and Puck weren't together yet, but I assure you, I wouldn't have marked this as Puck/Rachel if it wasn't, but like any story, there needs to be a story arc, conflicts, and a climax, otherwise it's not a story! And this story didn't start with them together, so there needs to be a buildup, right? Well, I think there does ...**

**But anyway, on to the story, enjoy!

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It was the most beautiful day out. The sun was shining, the humidity didn't make you feel like you were going to melt away, and it felt more like spring out than summer. Rachel decided it was the perfect weather for a run. She has been lacking in her normal exercise routine and hasn't ran in a while. At home they have a small gym in their house and when she's up to it, she'll go for a run in Central Park. But there wasn't much to her disposal here in Shelbyville, so she mostly just did yoga every morning and got Aunt Sarah into it, but it was definitely not as intense as what she was used to. It was usually too hot out to go out running but with this perfect day she had to. It's a good way to get out all of her stress and to not think for awhile.

She gets back and stops by the porch to stretch and cool down. Her legs feel like they're on fire and she smiles because it's a good burn. She takes a big gulp of her water and when it spills down her neck she sighs because it feels so refreshing. She brings her shirt up to wipe the water and sweat off her neck and face revealing her toned stomach and the bottom of her pale pink sports bra.

When she brings her shirt back down she looks out and sees Puck standing a ways back staring at her. She can't really make out the expression on his face but she swears she can feel his eyes on her. Rachel bites her lip as she swipes her hand across her hand across her collarbone and can see Puck lick his lips as he just stands there still watching her. All of a sudden Rachel feels ten times hotter and like her skin is going to catch on fire.

Joe calls out to Puck and it breaks whatever spell they were under. Puck just runs a hand through his short, cropped hair and then sends Rachel a wave before he goes and sees what Joe wants. Rachel just takes a deep breath as she watches him retreat and then turns to walk into the house.

She goes straight to the shower, running the water cold. When the water hits her she lets out a small scream at the shock of it but quickly she just feels relief from the heat. She closes her eyes as the water runs down her head then down her body. She tries to push thoughts of Puck from her mind. But she would be lying if she said she didn't see his eyes the second her's closed and didn't image his tongue licking something other than his own lips.

* * *

Rachel is making a batch of iced tea in the kitchen later that afternoon and is reaching for the sugar in the cabinet above the sink. She's pushing it so it comes closer but she does that thing where she accidentally gets pushed further back. But she's still determined to get it.

All of a sudden she hears a laugh, his laugh. She turns to see Puck standing there with a smirk on his face. He comes up right behind her and reaches up and grabs the sugar for her. He backs away and she turns around fully facing him. He hands her the sugar and their hands linger for a second longer than they should.

Rachel walks back over to the stove and measures out sugar to put into the pot, "How was your day, Noah?" Rachel asks.

Puck shrugs, "It was fine, the usual".

Rachel nods as she stirs the contents of the pot.

"Are you doing anything Thursday?" he asks her.

"Do I ever have anything to do?", Rachel says laughing. It's true that she has done pretty much nothing this summer.

"Well, Quinn usually babysits my sister on Thursdays but she's going out of town this week to visit her cousin in Nashville and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching her for the day?"

"I would love to!" Rachel says with excitement, which Puck laughs at in response.

Shaking his head, he says, "Okay, cool. Just so you know, she's a brat, so be prepared."

Rachel just rolls her eyes at him and says, "I'm sure she's not."

So that's how Rachel finds herself in front of The Puckerman's household bright and early Thursday morning. It's a white, one story house with a dark green roof and shutters. There's a front porch with a small white iron table with four matching chairs around it. She walks up the porch and rings the doorbell and she's not sure why, but she's really nervous to meet Puck's sister.

Puck answers the door, tells her to call if she needs anything and all the emergency numbers are on the 'fridge, but he has to go or he'll be late. As he walks out the door, he yells over his shoulder, "Annie be good!"

Rachel smiles and walks into the house. As soon as you walk in, you're in the living room and there's a small girl with dark hair sitting in front of the television with a bowl of cereal in her hands. She looks at Rachel and smiles.

"Hi, I'm Annie!"

"I'm Rachel, it's very nice to meet you."

"You too. You can sit and watch some TV if you want." Annie says as she scoots over making room for Rachel on the couch.

"Okay" Rachel says as she walks over and sits down next to her.

* * *

Rachel adores Annie Puckerman. She learns that she is ten years old, gets straight A's in school, and tells the best stories. She tells her that she has a boyfriend named Tommy who lives down the street. Rachel smiles remembering when she was ten and she married Josh Lieberman at summer camp, they were married for the whole summer and she was the only girl he didn't throw worms on.

Annie looks at Rachel and very seriously says, "Don't tell Noah okay? He won't like it."

"Why won't he like it?" Rachel asks with her brows raised.

"He says I can't have a boyfriend til I'm 30 and a month ago he saw Peter Matthews kiss me on the cheek and he just comes over and he's so angry, it looked like his head was going to explode and he didn't even say anything! He just looked and Peter with the meanest look and Peter just peed his pants."

Rachel yells, "No he didn't!"

"He did!" Annie says throwing her hands in the air.

"Oh no, poor Peter!" Rachel laughs.

"I know! So you can't tell Noah, okay?"

Rachel takes her fingers and "zips" her lips shut, "My lips are sealed."

* * *

Rachel tells her she played Annie a couple times when she was younger and Annie thinks that is the coolest thing she's ever heard. She also makes Rachel sing "Tomorrow" for her. Which leads to Rachel having to sing every song ever done by a Disney Princess. Rachel would be lying if she said she wasn't having fun.

* * *

Later Rachel is sitting on the floor with Annie wearing a pink feather boa, a crown, and very pink lip stick. Across from her Annie is wearing the same lipstick, a pink tutu, and about 20 plastic bracelets. They are having a tea party with Annie's stuffed bear, Mr. Snuggles. And she can say they are having a lovely time.

Rachel hears the door open and sees Puck walk in and she can feel her face get instantly red.

"I like the new look", he says with a smirk.

Rachel rolls her eyes and says, "Leave us alone, we are having fun, right Annie?"

Annie smiles and says, "Yupp! Noah, would you like to have some tea?"

Puck just laughs and says, "No way."

Annie rolls her eyes and looks at Rachel, "He plays with me when no one else is here, he even wears the feather boa."

Rachel laughs and looks at Puck seeing his face completely red.

"I've never seen you blush before," Rachel says still laughing, "Would you like your boa back?"

"Whatever", Puck says as he stalks off down the hall to what she presumes is his room. Her and Annie continue their tea party, still giggling.

Shortly after their tea party is done, Rachel and Annie are sitting on the couch watching some show when Puck comes out. Annie had just told her the most fascinating story about Puck and she is dying to say something about it. When he was 14, Annie had a babysitter, Kristy Worthington, who Puck apparently had the biggest crush on. He even wrote a song about her that Annie said he would sing all the time.

So Rachel sits on the couch and tries not to giggle the second she sees him. He looks at her like he has no idea whats going on, but when he sees his sisters stupid evil grin, he knows it's not good.

"What did that little brat tell you?" he asks, arms crossed across his chest.

Rachel tries to act coy, "Oh nothing, we were just talking about this girl, Kristy."

Puck yells, "Annie!", which just makes her laugh harder.

"Do you still write songs?" Rachel asks him.

Before Puck can respond, his sister jumps in and says, "Yes he does, he has a notebook in his room that he thinks is hidden, but it's not."

"What are you doing sneaking around in my room?"

"I'm a little sister, it's my job." She says matter-of-factly.

"Yea well then it's my job to kill you."

Annie gets up and Puck runs right after her and picks her up tickling her until she can't breath and yelling at him to stop. Rachel smiles and gets up and grabs for Annie, taking her away and trying to protect her from Puck's "attacks".

* * *

Rachel ends up staying for dinner after Puck tells her that his mom called and said she would be home soon and wanted her to stay. She is coming back from the bathroom when she sees a door open and when she peaks in, can tell it's Puck's room. She stops to peak in further. His floor is scattered with some clothes and his bed is unmade, but other than that it is relatively neat. She sees a guitar leaning against the wall by his bed.

"Snoop", she hears from behind her and she jumps a little and turns to see Puck standing behind her.

"I'm not snooping, just curious."

He walks past her and into his room, "You can come in if you want, the room doesn't bite."

Rachel laughs and steps in after him, "I see you have a guitar."

"How'd I know that'd be the first thing you noticed?"

Rachel just smiles. She walks over and picks up the guitar, hands it to Puck, and says, "play something."

Puck laughs but he sits down and places the guitar in his lap.

"Any requests?"

"Play something you wrote" Rachel tells him.

Puck clears his throat and shakes his head, "Fine".

Rachel lets out a squeal of excitement and leans against the rail of his window across from him with a huge smile on her face.

He starts to playing and as soon as Rachel hears the actual words she can't help but let out a little laugh.

_Oh Kristy, Kristy,_

_Please just be with me._

_Oh Kristy, Kristy,_

_You and me, we're meant to be._

Rachel continues to laugh and Puck asks, "What'd you think? Deep right?"

"Yes. You're very talented at rhyming, Noah."

"I try." He says laughing, but then he starts playing a song that they both know and Puck smiles when he hears Rachel starting to sing along.

* * *

Rachel is having such a lovely time at the Puckerman's. Puck's mother, Ava, is really sweet and made the best apple pie she's ever had. Ava asks her all about New York, high school, and Julliard. Then Annie tells her about the great day they had and makes Rachel blush when Annie gushes about what a good singer she is. Puck has been pretty quiet, but keeps sending Rachel smiles. She thinks is one of the best days she's had this summer.

But then Ava asks Puck if Quinn is enjoying her time in Nashville and all of a sudden Rachel is brought right back to reality.

* * *

The next day Rachel gets a call from Puck which surprises her. Yes, they're friends. And yes they have many conversations and hung out a lot. But she actually thinks this is going to be the first time she's ever talked to him on the phone.

"Hey, so to what do I owe this honor of receiving a phone call from you?"

"I know you want to be a star on Broadway, but did you ever consider being a comedian?"

"I'll just leave that to you."

Puck just laughs and the groans into the phone.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm bored. You wanna hangout?"

"I would but I have plans tonight with Finn."

"Oh yea, what are you doing?" Puck says, but the way he says it is drastically different than the light heart-ness way he was talking to her before.

Rachel tells him, "I'm not completely sure, he just said something about a lake. But we can hang out tomorrow if you want."

Puck doesn't respond right away and Rachel can hear him clear his throat and then he suddenly says, "Yea sure. Well I gotta go."

"Oh, okay. Bye." Rachel says a bit shocked.

Puck hardly says, "Bye" and then hangs up.

Rachel closes her phone a bit confused.

* * *

Rachel realizes right away that Finn's date night at the lake is his way of trying to be romantic. And also his way of trying to get some. She thinks it's funny that he went through all the trouble to get her to have sex with him. She also thinks it's a bit sweet in a way. But she's not going to sleep with him, not when she is still trying to get over whatever she feels for Puck.

Besides she hasn't known him that long and she's not going to have sex with him in the bed of his truck. She's also starting to fear that Finn might be feeling more for her than she feels for him. She feels badly and thinks that maybe she is still holding out for Puck for some reason and maybe that's why her feelings won't develop for Finn. But she's not sure if they would even be anything more even if Puck wasn't in the picture. All she knows is that she would never cry over Finn Hudson in anyway. That might sound like a good thing, but it really just means you didn't care enough to begin with.

* * *

Rachel doesn't hear from Puck for the rest of the weekend and she's not sure what to think of that. Maybe he got busy or found other people to hang out with. She's certainly not his only friend. She doesn't see him again until the end of Monday when she walks into the barn and sees him putting one of the horses away.

"What happened? I thought we were going to hangout this weekend because you were so bored," Rachel says with a hint of mockery.

Instead of laughing or telling her something came up, he just looks at her, his jaw set, and for some reason looks angry.

Rachel doesn't know what to make of this, "What's your problem?"

"Did you have fun on Friday?" Puck asks staring her straight in the eyes in and in a tone she's never heard from him before.

"Yes, it wa-"

"Did you fuck him?" Puck asks cutting her off.

Rachel is completely shocked at the way Puck is talking to her.

"Excuse me?" Rachel spits out.

"I've known Finn my whole life, and I know why he takes girls to the lake." he says in an excusatory tone.

Rachel just looks at Puck, stunned speechless and the hurt she is feeling is quickly replaced with anger.

"Well, did you?" he asks.

"No", she yells, "but I don't see how it's any of your business!"

"God, I don't know, I just thought-"

Rachel throws her hand in the hair, "You thought what?"

Puck opens and closes his mouth, not sure what to say so Rachel just says, "You have a girlfriend, Puck."

Puck takes a moment and says, "I know that."

"Yea, well, she's not me so stop acting like it." Rachel responds. (Rachel can't believe she actually just said that.)

Puck looks at her in a way she's never seen from him before. She's not sure what he's doing when he stalks towards her, she's not sure if he knows either. But the next thing she knows, he is crashing his lips to hers and his hands are tangled in her hair. She lets out a gasp and he uses that to slide his tongue into her mouth as she wraps her arms around his waist.

She never been kissed like this before. With such force and such passion. She has never felt this when someone kissed her, like she never wanted it to end. She could literally live the rest of her life with her lips fused to his. He pushes her backward until her back hits the wall and when he lifts her up she wraps her legs around his waist.

She runs her hands across his broad shoulders, then up his neck, and racks her nails through his short hair. He lets out a moan and it vibrates through her whole body and she lets out a noise she's never heard herself make before. But Puck seems to like it because he just kisses her harder and a shiver goes down her spine.

They finally pull apart because as much as she would love to never stop, they both need air to live. But she keeps her eyes closed because she doesn't know what this means. She knows that was what she's been waiting for since the first moment she first saw him and it was so much better than she could have ever imaged. But she also knows that this isn't a fantasy and as soon as she opens her eyes she will be met with reality. So she just keeps her eyes closed for as long as she can.

Rachel can hear Puck's heavy breathing and he's still holding her up and has his hands placed on her hips, securing her against the wall. She just hears him say, "Rachel", and then she is forced to open her eyes and look into his.

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**Next:** Cliffhanger, what? You'll just have to see what the aftermath of that well anticipated kiss is going to be ...

I 3 Reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: First off I would like to say SO SORRY for taking so extremely long to update. I just got super busy and one of my worse causes of writer's block kicked in. Seriously, it was bad. I've had this chapter outlined and partially written for months but just could not get a word out! **

**But my downtime has return as well (it seems) as my ability to form complete sentences. Hope you enjoy! xoxo**

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Rachel can hear Puck's heavy breathing and he's still holding her up and has his hands placed on her hips, securing her against the wall. She just hears him say, "Rachel", and then she is forced to open her eyes and look into his.

His eyes are darker than she's ever seen them and he looking straight into hers. They're both breathing heavily and neither say a word. Puck's eyes dart to Rachel's lips again, hardly for a second before darting right back to her eyes. Rachel's hand is placed on Puck's chest, right over his heart and she can feel it beating as hard as hers. Before she can think, Rachel leans in and kisses Puck again.

This kiss is softer, their lips moving slowly and with purpose but with equal passion as the one before. Rachel sucks Puck's bottom lip into her mouth and gives him a little bite, glides her tongue over it, then slips it into his mouth when he moans.

Rachel moves her hands around his neck and lets them slide across his broad shoulders. She kneads into them when Puck brushes his thumbs on her ribcage right below her breasts. Rachel let's out a shaky breath as a shock shoots through her and lands right in her gut.

Puck's lips move from her lips down her neck and she can feel his scruff tickling her skin in the best way. He makes his way back up to her lips and she sighs, letting his tongue pass her lips.

Rachel has never felt like this before. Ever. She almost is afraid that this is really just some very very vivid dream she will wake up from. Though she is finding that even in her dreams, it never felt like this.

They break apart a second time and she can hear Puck curse under his breath. He is still holding her up against the wall, her legs still wrapped around his waist, his hands still clutching at her waist. Puck has his forehead pressed against the wall right next to Rachel's head, she can still feel his breath on her neck.

After another moment, Rachel's feet are back on the ground and Puck walks away from her, his head in his hands. Rachel looks down at her feet and while she is still feeling the rush from kissing Puck, another emotion rushes through her: guilt.

Rachel has never and never wanted to be the type of girl to kiss another person's significant other. The fact that she had actually become friends with Quinn in the short time she's been here, makes her feel even worse. She finally looks up and sees Puck with his head down, as he says, "I'm such an asshole".

"You're not, I- it-" Rachel says as she walks closer to him, putting her hand on his arm. He looks at her then. She feels even worse when she can feel the bolt of electricity and passion that runs through her body every time he looks at her.

"No, no, I just- I just- God, I'm an asshole because I have a girlfriend and I kissed you," Puck says and then sighs, "and because I still want to."

Rachel sucks in a breath when she hears that. She doesn't know what to do with herself right now. She's still standing pretty close to Puck, with her hand on his arm, and all she wants to do is kiss him again. Puck is staring at her and leans in the tiniest bit as if he was going to kiss her, but after a moment leans back and backs away from her.

"I have to go, I- I-"

She just looks down and let's out a quiet, "Oh, okay."

Puck just nods his head. Rachel thinks that this must be what heartbreak feels like. She looks up as Puck walks out of the barn and her stomach drops and she thinks this might feel worse than the guilt. The feeling that she doesn't mean more to him then just a fleeting attraction and now she can be some dirty little secret.

* * *

The first thing Rachel does after she calms down is break up with Finn. Well, not really break up since they were only causally dating with no labels, but that's not the point. The point is that no matter what happens, or what doesn't happen between herself and Puck, she knows that continuing something with Finn is not a good idea. Besides that she thinks he may have stronger feelings for her than she does for him, she doesn't want this turning into some weird, dramatic love quadrangle - that's for the movies and teen soaps, not for her life.

She talk to Finn briefly on the phone and he doesn't seems too hurt by her ending the romantic aspect of their relationship, which is refreshing and would probably bruise Rachel's ego if she wasn't so caught up with what just happened. He didn't seem all that surprised either which makes her worry if her feelings for Puck have been transparent enough for Finn to see.

The second thing Rachel does is buy a pint of chocolate ice cream, crawl into her bed, and call Kurt. He lets her cry long and hard and makes her describe every single detail of what happened so he can dissect the situation to come up with the best possible advice. He really is the best friend a girl can have.

"Honey, it's so obvious that he's completely into you and that him and Quinn probably should have ended things way before you even arrived in their little town. But you know how hard it is for people to step out of they're comfort zones. And then there's the fact that you will be leaving at the end of the summer."

Rachel sighs, "I know. I never meant to feel- feel so much. I just- it's more than just attraction now. For me, at least."

"I know. Just give him a little time and I'm sure he will talk to you about it. And if he doesn't then you know he wasn't worth it to begin with."

Rachel shoves a huge spoonful of ice cream in her mouth before saying, "Yeah, you're right. It's just really hard not knowing how he feels. And on top of that feeling so incredibly awful because of Quinn. It's just all so complicated."

"Well, my dear, if life was simple, we wouldn't enjoy the good things that happen so much."

* * *

Two days go by and Rachel still hasn't heard from Puck. She's seen him arrive and leave but she wants leaves it up to him to approach her. She's letting the heartbreak seep in and starts thinking that maybe all she was to him was a distraction. A girl from the big city that was different from all the people in his small town. A girl that he could just kiss once and get out of his system.

When the third day comes and he still has not said one word to her, that sadness turns into anger. The least he could do is discuss what happened. If anything, she thought they were at least friends and she deserved to be told to her face that it meant nothing to him.

He's the one that kissed her. He's the one that got all pissy about her and Finn. He's the one with the girlfriend of three years. But here she is, feeling a thousand different emotions, not sure of any of his, and trying to work through something she has no idea how to deal with. And what is he doing? She has no idea and it's driving her completely insane.

* * *

Rachel is laying in bed that night, not being able to sleep because her mind can not seem to shut up when she hears a gentle knock on her window.

Being from New York City, she's never had a window on the first floor of any building, so her first instinct is to grab something that can do some damage before she walks over to the window. She ends up picking up the brush she left on the nightstand and walks slowly to the window. She can see a shadow forming in the sheer curtains and the brush is ready in her hand for striking if need be and she pulls the curtain aside to see Puck standing there.

Puck sees Rachel standing there with a brush clasped tightly in her hand and raised above her head and she can see a small smile form on his lips. Rachel puts down the brush, replaces her scared expression with a pissed off one, and leans down to whisper through the window screen, "Noah, what are you doing? Trying to scare me half to death?"

His smile fades and his face looks serious, "No, I just needed to talk to you."

"I do nothing all day and you decide the best time to talk is right now?"

"Can you just let me in so we can talk?"

Rachel doesn't say anything, just opens the screen on the window up so Puck can climb in. She would laugh at how silly he looks climbing in her window if she wasn't so angry. So she just stands further back, recrosses her arms, and waits for him.

As soon as Puck is on his feet and immediately lets out, "I broke up with Quinn. I told her everything and we're over."

Rachel didn't know what she was expecting him to say when he said he wanted to talk, but it definitely was not that.

"What?"

Puck takes a few steps closer to Rachel, "Yeah, she just got back from Nashville tonight and I told her what happened. I told her that I was sorry but that we both knew that we weren't working anymore. And I told her that I was the one who initiated things and not to be angry with you-"

"You did?" Rachel asks, her eyes wide.

"Yes, and I'm sorry I waited so long to come talk to you. But I needed to finish things with Quinn first, I- I just don't think I could be around you again and not kiss you and I didn't want to keep doing that- not if I was still with someone else."

Puck looks at Rachel and he almost looks out of breath from the little speech he just made.

Rachel doesn't know what to say, which is completely rare for her because words, and talking in general, are kind of her thing. But he just said everything she could possibly want him to say and she really can not form any coherent responses.

All she knows is that she feels flutters in her stomach and a boy has never looked at her the way he is right now. So she just takes the few steps needed to be right in front of him, stands on her tip toes, and presses her lips against his.

Puck wraps his hand around the back of her neck and threads his fingers through her hair as she wraps her arms around his waist. He backs her up until the back of her knees hit the mattress and she falls back onto it pulling him with her. They scoot up the bed, him laying between her legs, one of which is bent up and she gets the urge to wrap around him. But before anything goes too far, Rachel pulls away and sighs, "Wait."

Puck rolls off her so that he is lying next to her and says, "Sorry."

Rachel smiles, "It's just that it's late and Joe's a pretty light sleeper."

Puck jolts up after that which makes Rachel giggle. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She gets up and kisses him one more time, just a peck on the lips, "Yes."

Puck smiles and nods and climbs out of the window and waves before leaving her sight. Rachel walks back to her bed and lays down. Even though she is definitely happy right now, there's still a nagging feeling in her gut and that guilt she feels about Quinn is still lingering. She really doesn't know how to approach a situation like this. She doesn't know what to expect, but she knows she somehow has to make this right with Quinn even if that means getting a punch square in the face.

But she pushes those thoughts aside for now and decides to focus on the more pleasant things that just happened. She knows they have a lot more to talk about and things probably won't be just completely perfectly perfect, but she's thinking things won't be so bad.

* * *

**So ...? Good? Bad?**

Next up: Rachel and Puck figure out how to work their new relationship when they have to worry about being in such a small town and running into some exes.

Reviews make the heart grow fonder.


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